The Definition of Happiness
I have not given much thought to the definition of happiness, but occasionally this question does come up in serious discussion. I was looking around the Internet and found the following webpage from the thehappyguy.com. I think it is funny that many of the so-called definitions of happiness are just opinions about what causes happiness rather than descriptions of what happiness actually is. My own off-the-cuff definition is that happiness is simply a pleasant emotion, the result of a positive evaluation.
The definitions from thehappyguy.com website that I am fond of are:
“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”
This happiness quote by Hugh Downs“But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads.”
This definition of happiness by Albert Camus“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
This happiness definition by Aristotle“Happiness is the ultimate realization that everything was, and is, exactly as it should be.”
Paul from The Netherlands
